US Partnership on Mobility From Poverty

We used to have a problem in our neighborhood: The more we helped people, the farther away they moved. The challenges for the community remained unsolved. We got to a point where we thought, “Maybe we shouldn’t be helping people,” but, of course, helping people is our business. It’s what we do. Then what is the solution to that problem? The solution was to create institutions. The institutions are grounded in place, and they mold culture. In creating institutions, we learned that we didn’t have to worry about people leaving the neighborhood. Institutions provided an anchor and rooted people to this community and this specific place.

About Esperanza

Esperanza is a faith-based nonprofit organization driven by the biblical mandate to "serve the least of these." We strengthen Hispanic communities through education, economic development, and advocacy.